Ordinance No. 6832 is a follow up to Resolution No. 5608 passed by the City Council on August 2, 2021.  Resolution No. 5608 was for the council to accept $14,751,230 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds that were awarded to the City of Auburn.  This Ordinance No. 6832 is the City Council’s direction on how to allocate and spend the ARPA funds.

An ad hoc committee, consisting of three council members, was formed to review the category priorities allowed by ARPA. The ad hoc committee met with the Mayor and City Directors to review a list of potential projects that fall into one of the seven allowable categories: COVID public health response, mitigating negative impacts due to COVID, providing services to communities disproportionately impacted by COVID, premium pay for essential workers, revenue replacement to maintain government services, and investments in water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure.  Based on the high level cost estimates for specific projects, the ad hoc committee recommends moving forward with a general spending plan that allocates the $14,751,230 as follows:

Any department proposing to spend ARPA funds must submit a proposal consistent with the funding allocations above, and those proposals will be reviewed by the Finance Department and City Directors to ensure the proposal is consistent with the overall objectives of ARPA and the spending plan adopted by Council.  The Finance Department will submit quarterly reports to the Council regarding the proposals received and approved, and the overall ARPA budget status.